• Greta (Katharina Schuttler), an aspiring singer who tries to advance her career by becoming
the mistress of an SS officer.

• Friedhelm (Tom Schilling), a soldier sent to fight on the eastern front.

• Viktor (Ludwig Trepte), a Jew who tries to persuade his family to flee Germany.

• Wilhelm (Volker Bruch), a deserter from the German Army after being ordered to commit war
crimes.

“
Generation War is epic in a way that is rarely even attempted anymore in mainstream
American cinema,” said Chris Hamel, president of the Gateway Film Center. “Watching something this
absorbing and engaging in a big-screen environment is a rare opportunity.”

The film, which has been called a German
Band of Brothers, has received varying reviews, from “refreshingly mature” (Nora Lee
Mandel on the movie website Film-Forward) to “glossy historical revisionism” (Michael Phillips, the
Chicago Tribune). The war scenes, however, are often cited as being well-done.

With each film clocking in at more than two hours, a separate ticket purchase is required for
each.

Admission: $10, or $6.50 for students; before 6 p.m., $7.50, or $6.50 for
students

Czech (and Slovak) marks

Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 N. High St.

Despite facing oppression from the Soviet Union, filmmakers from Eastern bloc nations were able
to release meaningful work.

Two examples of what came to be called “Czechoslovak New Wave” films by director Jan Nemec will
be offered at the Wexner Center this week.

In the early 1960s, films by Czechoslovakian directors such as Milos Forman (who immigrated to
the United States in 1968 and later directed
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,
Amadeus and
The People vs. Larry Flynt), Jiri Menzel and Nemec began to achieve global
recognition.

Filmmaking blossomed as Czechoslovakia’s Communist government grew more liberal. But the “
Prague Spring” — and the new wave — ended when tanks rolled into Prague in August 1968 as part of a
Soviet crackdown.

The Wexner Center will screen two Nemec films on new 35 mm prints:
Diamonds of the Night (1964), about two Jews fleeing a concentration camp; and
A Report On the Party and the Guests (1966), an allegorical tale of a picnic ruined by
thugs.

“Everyone knows Milos Forman. A lot of people know Jiri Menzel,” said David Filipi, director of
film/video for the Wexner Center. “(Nemec is) probably No. 3, and he gets overlooked,
basically.

“He had a relatively short career compared to Forman, but it’s a great period in world cinema,
and he’s one of the key figures in that country’s filmmaking from the period.”

A degree in political science isn’t required to appreciate the films.

“If you have a basic understanding that these were made under a profoundly oppressive climate,
that’s all you need to know,” Filipi said. “And, artistically, you don’t need any of that.”

Room with a view

Drexel Theatre, 2254 E. Main St.

Is
The Room (2003) bad, good or so bad it’s good?

As always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The film, directed by and starring Tommy Wiseau as a banker with a girlfriend who seduces his
friend, has become a favorite on the midnight-movie circuit. It has played monthly at the Drexel
since October 2009.

Online movie critic Felix Vasquez Jr. summed up his appreciation of the film: “It’s like sitting
through a nightclub magic act and watching the magician flub through one gag after the other until
eventually you look around wondering, ‘Is he really this bad or is this some sort of performance
art?’ ”

Drexel director Kevin Rouch has his own theory on the cult film’s attraction.

“The quality of the movie is good despite the acting being not good,” he said, laughing. “It’s
just one of those movies that you can’t take your eyes off. There’s enough good acting to carry it
and enough bad acting to make it funny.”

Audience participation is part of the draw.

For example, a photo of a spoon decorates a character’s home; whenever the photo appears
on-screen, the crowd throws plastic spoons — and not just a couple.

“I came through one Sunday morning before the cleaning crew arrived,” Rouch said. “I was amazed.
There had to be thousands.”